National Under-20 captain Ricardo Cousins's dream of representing his country at the senior level
may well become a reality after technical director Rene Simoes singled him out as one for the future.

Simoes, in addressing journalists on his arrival at the Norman Manley International Airport on
Saturday, said he was impressed with Cousins at last year's Pan American Games in Brazil.

Said Simoes: "I saw one player, his name is Cousins. I saw on television he did great things in the
Maracana Stadium. I was very impressed how a player can go to Maracana (one of the largest
stadiums in the world) and play like that.

"This boy must have some quality. And I believe there are other ones here. We have to encourage
them and say, 'hey show up, we are here to look at you'," added Simoes. Cousin led the young
Reggae Boyz to silver medal, losing 1-2 to Ecuador in the final after knocking off Haiti (4-0), Argentina (2-0),
Colombia (1-0) and Mexico (5-4 on penalties).

Cousins, 20, in an earlier interview with the Observer, made his intentions clear in catching the eye of
Simoes even before the technical director arrived in Jamaica. The former Glenmuir student had just
scored a peach of a freekick that enabled Portmore United to edge Tivoli Gardens 1-0 in the first
end-of-round final.

Cousins said he has a plan - just continue to score - and hopes that his exploits on the field will woo
the new technical director. Said Cousins then: "My thought and motivation is that Rene Simoes will be
here, so I have to put myself in a position where he can look at me and give me a chance, so I am
working on it. "I am in great form now and I will continue to work hard," said Cousins, who has
scored six goals in the last six games.

But little did he know that Simoes already had him under the radar, having caught the eye of the Brazilian
as far back as six months ago.